On The Wings Of Icarus
by Nocturniquette
Summary: Robin is dead. He died to save Slade from his enemies. Slade goes back in time to "fix" things. Now the rest of the Titans and Slade are all acting weirdly in Robin's presence and he wants answers. Now Robin has to figure out if Slade is friend or foe, all the while dodging Slade's past enemies. Can he find the answers he seeks? Or will he find nothing but ruin?
1. The End

**Summary**: Robin died saving Slade. Slade goes to the past because in the years that Robin has been dead, he's become even more obsessed with the acrobat than ever before. Now the other Teen Titans are acting weird, and Robin is determined to figure out why everybody is acting so strange in his presence. Imagine his surprise when he learns the truth. Now he has to figure out if Slade is a friend or a foe. And it's not going to be easy when dangerous enemies make themselves known in Jump City.

**Disclaimer**: I didn't do it, but I thought about it. Does that make me an accomplice?

**AN**: I don't think this story will be slash, but you never know. Could happen. If it does, there will be a warning. If not, well...there will be a warning for that too.

**Flight Of The Robin**

It shouldn't have happened. As he stares at the broken body of his foe, still considered a child by most, he can't help but feel...lost. And strangely enough...sad.

Sad and alone.

Like his life was over. Like he had lost everything dear to him. It wasn't a new feeling, but it was one that Slade hadn't felt in quite sometime. He remembered now why he didn't get close to people or get attached to anything. Not like he had before. Because this feeling...of emptiness and sorrow was not what Slade had ever wanted to feel again. He had hoped...but no. Slade took a deep breath and continued to stare at the lifeless body of Robin as he tried to come to terms with things.

It shouldn't have happened. This was not how things were to supposed to go! Robin was not supposed to die goddamn it! And yet...he had.

Slade wanted to hit something. Wanted to feel something break beneath his hands. He wanted to scream his rage and despair to the skies above. He wanted to smash everything in his path. He wanted the world to know how utterly broken he felt. He settled instead for pummeling his hands through the broken concrete underneath his feet until he couldn't feel his hands anymore. He ignored the blood that welled inside his gloves and traveled down to his fingertips. It wasn't anything new that he hadn't felt before.

Robin had saved him. _Saved him!_ And he had paid the ultimate price for it: his life.

Slade knelt down next to the leader of the Titans.

He found himself drawn to the mask on the boy's face. His hands hesitated as he gripped the edges like a lifeline.

Should he? Should he look? "What does it matter now anyway? The boy is dead." he said harshly to himself.

He took off the mask with one solid tug. He stared at Robin's youthful features for a very long time; memorizing each contour of the face that would never reach adulthood.

Wait. He recognized the boy's face. Images flew through his brain. Richard Grayson. That was the boy's name. And he was the ward of the richest man in Gotham, Bruce Wayne.

Slade let out a low gravelly laugh. Robin was Dick Grayson. Dick Grayson was Robin. Not even he had seen that one coming. To think that his greatest enemy had been an orphaned circus brat with a rich father. He laughed again, but it quickly subsided.

He took off his glove and hesitantly touched Robin's lukewarm cheek. He was sorry. He didn't want to be but he couldn't help it. The boy...no Robin...was never even supposed to be here.

It had been his fault that Robin had even showed up anyway. Or so he liked to believe.

Robin had more than likely received an alert on his communicator telling him that Slade was active in Jump City.

Like the little hero he was, he had shown up with the rest of the Teen Titans, intent on taking him down. What nobody had realized, was that Slade had more far more enemies than anyone had thought.

Several of his previous _"acquaintances" _had been there as well. Mercs like he used to be. They had tracked him down and tried to kill him. But Robin had stopped that from happening by giving his life to save Slade.

But what Slade didn't understand was WHY Robin would willingly give his life to save...him.

Surely the boy understood the fact that they were enemies? Surely, Robin understood that if their positions had been reversed, Slade would've let fate decide if the boy lived or not? Slade knew that Robin was an intelligent boy; so much so that he tried on more than one occasion to make the him his apprentice.

But that one question ate at him: **WHY?** WHY would Robin choose to die for him? It didn't compute in his brain. Robin was the stereotypical hero; he was the bad guy. Was Robin so much of a hero that he would sacrifice his life for just anyone? Or was there another reason for what he had done?

Slade's head snapped up as he heard the remnants of the Teen Titans getting closer to his position. Fading into the shadows, Slade felt his triumph here today was bittersweet. His enemies, the mercs who had tracked him down lay slain, their blood splattered throughout the grungy area. But deep down, Slade knew he had won. Robin was dead and the Teen Titans would be no more. Not without their leader. Not without their heart.

Somehow, it didn't feel like a victory. Feeling hollow inside, Slade gave Robin's dead face one last glance before he disappeared, Robin's black and white mask gripped tightly within his human hand. No one would ever hear from Slade again.

* * *

**AN**: And there is Chapter One folks! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it! :D

The idea just suddenly came to me.

I mean, I always wondered what Slade's reaction would be if Robin got hurt saving him or something like that...and then, well this happened and I killed off the Boy Wonder. Don't worry though! He won't stay dead for very long! ***evil laugh* **Tune into the next installment of Flight of the Robin to see how everything works out! Till next time folks! Goodnight!


	2. And So It Begins Again

On The Wings Of Icarus, Chapter Two: And So It Begins...

**AN:** I am taking creative license and giving the characters some first and last names. I have not seen all of the episodes of Teen Titans and therefore, do not know if they reveal their true identities in the show. If it is wrong and you know their real names, then please tell me so I can go back and fix it. Thank you for your cooperation and patience.

And without further ado, here is Chapter 2 of On The Wings Of Icarus!

* * *

It had been over three years since Robin died. The Teen Titans had tried to stay together, but without Robin...things just kind of fell apart. That isn't to say that they had stopped fighting crime, they just did it by themselves now. The rest of the Titans occasionally ran into one another, but for the most part, everyone had gone their separate ways. What they couldn't figure out, was why Slade had stopped his criminal activities. The man had simply disappeared and fallen off the grid. There were no attacks against Jump City that could be attributed to him. It was like the man had given up being a criminal master-mind now that Robin was gone. They were of course grateful that Slade wasn't attacking Jump, but it worried them, having not heard of his whereabouts or his activities for the past several years.

What none of the other Titans knew, was that Slade was very much alive and very busy. He had been procuring certain things from his contacts for the last three years for his latest project. And it looked like it was very close to completion.

All he had to do now was turn it on and send something through. He had spent many agonizing days, without sleep, just to see this through. He couldn't fail. To do so, would mean that he would never see Robin again.

That wasn't an option.

As Slade began his preparations for the machine, he recounted the last several years. His obsession with Robin had grown to all new proportions. Everything he did nowadays was a testament to the young teen whose life had been cut short way before it's time. Which was the main reason for the gigantic machine in his underground lair.

The pet project he had been spending time on was a time machine. It had taken him an embarrassingly long amount of time to actually turn the fantasy concept into reality. The machine was made out of titanium alloy, with built in nanomachines in order to monitor the devices progress. He was going to be in the thing and it wasn't like he could step out and press a switch and hop back in before the machine did it's job. That's what the nanomachines were there for.

Right now, he was monitoring the machines energy output. He knew it would be a lot, hence why he had built his device in an old underground bunker. Whomever had built it had made sure that anything they did down there would not be caught up above by a scanner or a monitor. It had been the perfect spot. And now, as he watched the machines progress on his computer screen, he hoped that everything would work out alright.

It had to. He was counting on it. He had to see Robin again. _He had too_. His mind, his very sanity, depended upon it.

Back then, he hadn't realized just how much Robin meant to him. Sure, he taunted the boy, tried to kill his friends, and made the boy his apprentice at one time, but he had always felt like something was...missing.

Without Robin around, Slade finally figured out what it was.

Richard "Robin" Grayson made him feel alive in ways he had thought were long dead. The boy's fiery temper and passion for a good fight had made him stand out like a beacon that Slade couldn't possibly resist.

He **needed** Robin in his life. He realized that now. And he was going to make Robin apart of his life whether the boy wanted to be there or not.

Hence the time machine.

Noting that things appeared to be working correctly, Slade started up the machine, silently praying that this one didn't blow up on him like the last one had. (It had taken him **months** to get everything assembled again!)

Slade double-checked his belongings. He was taking everything with him. Especially his most prized possession: Robin's black and white mask.

He pulled out the mask and traced the edges with his finger. "Soon...Robin...very soon..." he whispered to the empty room.

Hearing the computer beep, Slade put the mask back in his pack and set it down on the floor before going over to the computer.

All of the programs had a green light next to them, indicating that things were moving along smoothly.

For the first time in three years, Slade allowed a smile to grace his mask-less face.

It was time.

Slade picked up a small piece of metal from the ground and placed it in the time machine's pod and closed the door.

He started the machine via his computer console and watched in fascination as the pod began to spin at a dizzying rate. The pod then began to glow a whitish-gold and it was so bright that Slade had to cover his eyes lest he be blinded.

When the light died down several minutes later, Slade went over to the pod and peered inside. The jagged piece of metal was nowhere to be found.

Slade's smile widened.

* * *

(Teen Titan Tower, Jump City, 3:07 a.m. Same Time)

Cyborg was bored. It seemed to happen a lot more nowadays then it had whenever...whenever Robin had been alive.

Cyborg still couldn't believe that the little acrobat who had survived practically everything thrown at him was gone.

His death had hit them all hard. Especially Starfire and Raven. Starfire had had a huge crush on the Boy Wonder and his death had nearly torn the younger girl to shreds with grief. The last Cyborg had heard of her, she was in Gotham calling herself Poison Ivy. He hadn't spoken to her in a while, so he had no idea if she was still there or not. Or even what she was up to.

Raven had said that she and Robin used to converse via telepathy a lot on and off missions and his lack of mind link had left her feeling terribly empty inside. Cyborg knew Raven was in Jump City somewhere, but had no idea where she was presently. All he knew was that she had a new codename (Steel Magnolia) and a new outfit. Other than that, well he couldn't be sure what she was up to either.

Beast Boy hadn't taken the news well, (hell, none of them had), and the last Cyborg had heard of the little green guy, he was in a circus show, performing as the One Man Freak-show. He was making quite a bit of money changing into different animals too. He had heard a rumor that the JLA had made use of BB's gift several times already. He didn't know if he believed the little green boy, as BB was known to exaggerate his stories frequently. But then again...Beast Boy had grown up after Robin's death, so maybe he hadn't been lying about his involvement after all.

Cy hadn't heard anything from him in a long time either.

Suddenly a loud beeping sound came from his arm, and Cyborg pulled up the appendage in surprise.

He blinked, stunned, at the sudden readings he was getting.

He typed in a few commands on his cybernetic arm and found out where there coming from. There was apparently some sort of energy interference coming from the lower half of Jump City, near the place where...where Robin had died.

Cyborg swallowed thickly as unwanted memories made themselves known. He shook his head and concentrated on what the energy readings could be. They were unlike anything Cyborg had ever seen before. And he'd seen a lot weird stuff. The readings themselves were off the charts, indicating something major was going down. But what could it be? There was nothing down in that part of Jump except an old abandoned bunker that nobody had touched in decades, and a lot full of rusted out vehicles that nobody had ever claimed.

He took his eyes off the energy charts a second to grab his communicator emblazoned with a capital "T". He still held onto his, as had the others, as occasionally they needed assistance with a foe or other.

He wasn't usually this cautious, but something was telling him that having everyone there when he checked out the mysterious source of the energy was a good plan. A plan that Robin would've approved of, Cyborg thought with a tiny smile.

He flipped open his communicator and waited impatiently for Raven or Steel to pick up.

"What?" came the familiar monotone voice of his little sister.

"Just got some strange readings near...near the place Robin...where Robin was when we...well the readings are off the charts. Something is going on down there. Wanna check it out with me?" Cyborg asked, fumbling through his explanation.

Steel hesitated briefly and Ryan (Cyborg) could clearly see the pain and sadness she was desperately trying to hide behind her I-don't-have-emotions facade.

When she opened her eyes, Ryan knew she was coming before she even acquiesced.

"Yeah, I guess I'll come. Got nothing better to do anyway." Ryan grinned at the familiar line.

"Alright, I'll meet ya there. Do you think you can get a hold of Starfire for me? She's too far out of range for me to get into contact with her. I'll contact Beast Boy and see if he wants to meet us there."

Steel said nothing about the blatant lie Ryan spewed about Starfire being out of range. She merely nodded and hoped her conversation with the Tamaranean didn't go horribly wrong like the last one had.

Cyborg let loose a breath of quiet relief as Steel's face faded off the communicator. He did _not _want to talk to Starfire. If that had been her on the comm instead of Raven, then the conversation would've taken a very different and possibly violent turn.

Pressing the button for BB's comm unit, Ryan again waited impatiently for the other boy to pick up.

"Hello?" Beast Boy's tired face came on the comm. When he saw who was calling him, his tiredness seemingly evaporated.

"Hey Cy! What's up?" Beast Boy asked, smiling.

"I don't know yet, but I got some strange readings I think we should take a look at." Ryan replied.

"Oh yeah? What kind of strange readings?" Beast Boy was suddenly all business, his attitude just as serious.

Cyborg sighed lowly. Ever since Robin died, Beast Boy's joking nature and easy going attitude had all but been extinguished. It was if the younger boy finally understood that the job they had was dangerous. After that, everything changed.

"Like I said, I don't know, but Raven is gonna meet us at the site, and hopefully Star will be there as well."

"Well, where is this place at?"

Ryan hesitated. "It's near the place where...where Robin died." Cyborg finished softly.

Beast Boy's face suddenly turned unreadable.

"I see." he said, his voice not revealing anything. Ryan winced.

"Will we see you there?" Ryan asked after a painful moment of silence.

Beast Boy didn't reply for a few seconds, before he hesitantly nodded.

Ryan allowed himself a small grateful smile. "Thanks BB. Talk to you later."

"Bye Cy." Beast Boy replied just as quietly.

* * *

(Meanwhile, with Raven now called Steel Magnolia.)

Raven sighed as she pressed the button to call Starfire. She mentally prepared herself for the upcoming conversation. She didn't know how Star would react to the news that they were headed back to the scene of Robin's demise.

After Robin's death, Starfire had become emotionally unstable. If someone even dared mentioned Robin's name, she would either fly into a fury the likes of which the remnants of the Titans had never seen before, or find a quiet dark corner and sob for a while.

Raven would take the sobbing over the catastrophic anger any day.

Raven glanced down at the communicator in her hand and realized that Starfire was staring back at her, completely silent.

She blinked, surprised. How long had Starfire been staring at her? Shaking her head, Raven began to talk.

"I just received a call from Cyborg. He said he's got something that we should see."

No response. Starfire was just staring at her.

The redhead blinked. "And what exactly does Cyborg want us to see?" the unbalanced female asked quietly.

Raven stared at her for a few seconds, trying to determine the other girl's emotional state, to no avail. Star's face was completely unreadable, something that had never happened before.

Raven proceeded cautiously.

"I don't know." she lied. "He said he received some strange readings and he thinks that we all should be there to check it out. He said that he has never seen these readings before."

"And he requires my help?" the redhead asked, her green eyes gleaming.

Raven nodded. "Beast Boy is also going to be there." she added.

Star's face turned contemplative. "I suppose I should go if you all are. Where are these readings coming from?"

Raven flinched imperceptibly. Here goes nothing...

"They are located in Jump City. It's near..." Raven stopped and took a deep breath. "It's near where Robin died." she finished quietly.

Dead silence. Raven was almost afraid to look up. She gathered her courage however, and looked up at the other girl.

Star's face had gone deathly white, and her emerald eyes had gone as wide as saucers.

Her mouth hung open in a small "o" shape, and it looked as if she tried to speak, but no words made it past her suddenly clogged throat.

"Do you you think...is it possible...could Robin be...alive?" Star asked, not daring to get her hopes up.

Raven again hesitated. The purple haired teen knew deep in her heart that if Robin was alive, then he would have already made contact with someone by now.

"I don't know. It is a possibility that we can't ignore though." Raven didn't mention how unlikely said possibility was. One look at Starfire's face told her the suggestion wouldn't be welcomed in the slightest.

"Then I shall see you there friend Raven. Let me just...take care of my precious plants and I'll be along shortly." Ivy said, and cut the comm off before Steel had a chance to reply.

Raven blinked down at the device in her hands, a little confused. That...had gone way better than she was hoping for.

'Well,' Raven thought as she rose into the air and floated out her window, 'It looks as if the Old Team is going to be together again.'

She sighed, and felt tears spring to her eyes. "I wish you were here too Robin." she sniffed before wiping the tears away.

She floated toward the abandoned part of Jump, determined to find out what those readings that Cyborg picked up were. Who knows? Maybe Starfire was right and Robin was alive. In any case, she would know the answer soon enough.

* * *

(Abandoned Bunker, 3:16 a.m. Same Time)

Slade tested a few more objects before he was satisfied with the results of the time machine.

Spencer then picked up his pack full of his essential belongings and placed it in the pod.

He again went over to the console and pressed Enter, and again went through the dizzying spins of the pod and potentially blinding lights.

And yet again, Spencer's test of the machine had ran smoothly.

Now, the only thing left for him to do was enter the device himself.

He did so with the widest grin on his face yet.

Now safely ensconced within the womb of the machine, Spencer ordered the computer to begin assimilation.

"Computer, activate Project Icarus." Slade had already done the math, and computed the results into the computer console. If everything worked out, (and with his previous results speaking for themselves), then Slade should arrive sometime before he had made Robin his apprentice.

Spencer watched as the world outside the pod began to blur. He closed his eyes as the whitish-gold lights from before appeared and seared his closed irises.

He screamed in sudden agony as his body tore itself apart. The process was brutal. The time machine's design tore objects apart at the molecular level and put them back together again at the end of the cycle when it dropped the completed objects at the dumping site.

Slade screamed until he no longer had a voice. 'The...pain...is worth...it...' he thought as his mind conjured up images of Robin. 'I will...see...you very s-soon...my...little...bird...' Spencer thought before his entire world turned dark and he knew no more.

(Outside and near the old bunker, 3:58 a.m.)

Cyborg looked around at the grungy surroundings through the windshield of his T-Car.

The place looked virtually the same since...they had last been here.

It didn't look as if anything was out of the ordinary.

His arm beeped again. Cyborg looked down at it and whistled sharply. The energy readings had just spiked massively!

"Alright," he said, getting out of the car, "let's find out who's doing this." Ryan took his time exploring the place, making sure that he didn't go too far away from his car. The others would be here soon and he didn't want them to have to search for him too. He would glance down periodically at the charts on his cybernetic arm to make sure that the readings were there and the information he was receiving was accurate. It was. Good. At least his equipment was still in good shape since his last fight.

He quickly noticed a pattern in the readings. While the readings were abnormally high to start with, they would occasionally spike off the charts more than they had been seemingly every five to ten minutes or so.

He jumped and spun around, his arm transforming into his gun in mid spin as he heard a soft rustling noise behind him.

Raven was floating in the air a little ways behind him and looked unconcerned with the fact that he was pointing his weapon at her face.

"Has anyone else arrived?" she asked as she descended toward the ground, her long ponytail trailing elegantly behind her.

Cyborg shook head in the negative. "Nah, it's just us for now."

"Have you located where the signal is coming from yet?"

Ryan shook his head. "Was waiting for the rest of you. Thought it'd be a good idea to wait and see what we're up against first."

The purple haired girl raised a delicate eyebrow but didn't comment.

A sudden piercing call, that from a falcon or hawk, rang in the dark skies above the two Titans, and they looked up to see a dark green bird coming toward them.

Raven allowed herself a small, barely there, smile. It really had been too long since she had last seen Garfield.

When the green bird landed on the ground, it transformed into their friend, Beast Boy, who looked around his surroundings with a small frown before focusing on his old friends.

"Star's not here yet?" BB asked, pointedly not looking in the direction where they had discovered Robin's body. He clenched his fists as the images assaulted his brain, despite his control.

They had found Robin face up on the split and cracked concrete just inside the lot of rusted and beat up old vehicles. His mask was gone, and Robin had appeared as if he was only sleeping. The four or five bullet holes in his chest and abdomen proved otherwise. Robin had bled out before they got there. Whoever had shot him had been taken down by an unknown force. They had never found out who had killed Robin's killers; Cyborg thought it was one of the Titans, mainly Speedy. The hot tempered bowmen had become really good friends with their acrobatic leader and he had taken the news of Robin's passing especially hard. Starfire and Raven hadn't cared at the time. They were satisfied that Robin's killers hadn't got away. But Beast Boy knew it was Slade who had done the killing. He didn't know how and he didn't know why, but something was telling him that Slade was responsible for the mercenaries' deaths. However, he never told the Team his suspicions.

He came back to himself when he felt a small tug on his arm. He blinked and looked up at Raven, who had tears gathering in her eyes. They didn't fall, and Beast Boy felt like a selfish bastard for wishing that they wouldn't.

"I know." was all she whispered and BB grunted, but didn't pull his arm out of her hand.

They all glanced up and looked around when they heard a loud snapping sound.

Everybody powered up, not knowing if the newcomer was Starfire or the person responsible for the weird energy signal.

They all blinked in shock when a moment later, Starfire, or rather Poison Ivy, came through the darkness, riding atop a giant blood red rose with wicked thorns protruding from the massive stem. Her fiery red headed mane flew behind her like a flame wreathed halo, and her green eyes were blazing.

"Uh..." was the intelligent response Beast Boy in regards to Starfire's new entrance.

Raven and Cyborg were of the same mind, but didn't let out a verbal response.

"Wow Star! Nice Ride!" BB said in a parody of his usual cheerfulness.

"My name is Poison Ivy. I am not Starfire anymore. She was too innocent. Too naïve." Poison Ivy said as she glided down toward the ground.

Raven, BB, and Cyborg exchanged looks.

"Okay...Star—Poison Ivy—what do you all say we check out these readings and figure out what's going on?" Cyborg said.

"Let's not waste anymore time then." Ivy said and Ryan blinked, before quickly taking point.

"Right. Keep your eyes open guys. I have no idea what could be causing the readings I'm getting."

Cyborg said.

They all nodded before trailing after their robotic friend. They walked for several minutes in silence, Ryan conveniently bypassed the part of the car lot where they had Robin. Nobody mentioned his shortcut.

Ryan looked down at his arm, and began to type several commands into the interface. A small red blip popped up on the screen and Cyborg grinned.

Good, they weren't that far away from whatever was going on.

"I've got a solid location on the signal. It's about fifty feet from here. Spread out and pair off. Let's find this thing and shut it down." Cyborg said after they had been walking for a short while.

Everyone nodded. Beast Boy went with Steel Magnolia, and Poison Ivy accompanied Cyborg.

"What do you think we'll find?" Starfire asked quietly.

Cyborg shrugged. "Honestly? I have no idea. The signal is a mess. I'm surprised I even managed to pick up anything."

Starfire remained quiet and didn't utter another word.

Cyborg pretended not to notice the sudden oppressive silence that hang between them.

Ryan looked down at his arm. "Not too much further ahead of us...wait a second. This can't be right."

Starfire looked up and questioned him.

"The signal...it's coming from underground. But that can't be right. There's nothing there except...except..." Cyborg's face suddenly brightened.

"What is it?" Ivy asked curiously.

"There's an old abandoned bunker down there that was evacuated a long time ago when Jump and the rest of the cities were at war with each other. That's where the signal is coming from I bet."

Starfire nodded and contacted the others. Before too long they were all together at the site. Or rather on top of it.

"Any idea on how to get down there without blasting the place apart and letting anyone know that we're on our way?" Cyborg asked, looking at the rest of his friends.

Everybody shrugged. "I can go in a smaller form and scout around." Beast Boy said and changed into a small mouse.

Cyborg nodded to the little green rodent and BB disappeared into a small hole in the ground.

"Well," Ryan said as he looked around their grungy surroundings, "It looks like all we can do now is wait."

Meanwhile, Garfield, or Beast Boy as he was more commonly known as, flitted through the darkened tunnel he found himself in.

Thoughts raced through his mind as he ran.

Being here felt...strange. Not wrong, but somehow...different. It was almost as if someone or something was urging them to be there. Like he said, it felt strange.

But what was really weird about the strange feeling, was the fact that Garfield welcomed it.

Anything to get rid of those horrible images of Robin...lying there so still...

BB shook his head. 'Concentrate!' he scolded himself.

So Beast Boy entertained thoughts of what was down here in the super secret bunker.

Was it an alien invasion of some kind? Was it Terra? Had she somehow regained her powers? (He hadn't seen her since before Robin died, so he had no clue where she was or what she was doing.)

Or...or was it Slade who was doing all this weird energy stuff?

Quite suddenly, he could smell something...burning. Squeaking in surprise, BB quickly ran through the tunnel. What he hadn't expected was for the ground to rush out from under him like it had, and he dropped straight down into a...well a gigantic room.

Quickly transforming back into his human body, Garfield surveyed his surroundings after he landed. The room he was in was long and rectangular. The walls appeared to be made out of metal, as was the floor. But that's not what caught the green boy's eyes.

It was the humongous machine sitting in the center of the room.

"Whoa..." he whispered as he stepped toward the contraption.

He sniffed the air as he drew closer, and wrinkled his nose. Ugh. It smelled horrible in the room. And he confirmed that the mysterious machine was the cause of it.

But...what exactly was this thing? Who had built it and why?

"Cyborg, you're gonna wanna see this." BB said into this communicator.

* * *

End chapter 2. I know it seems like an odd place to drop off at, but it's ten pages long, and well...I wanted to get this out to you guys as soon as possible. So here you are! Hopefully this chapter explains things a little more and the characters are kept in character. I am currently hard at work on Chapter 3, so be on the lookout!


	3. Guess Who?

**On The Wings Of Icarus, Chapter 3—Guess Who!?**

**AN: **Well, I can honestly say I am surprised. My first serious fic, and we're already on Chapter 3! Goodness! Anyway, standard disclaimer applies. _**ALSO: This story IS NOT SLASH. **_Sorry to anyone who wanted it, but in the end, I decided not to go for it. I don't think there will be any pairings, just feelings but no romantic declarations of love, but if I do include them, then it will more than likely be RobStar, BBRaven, and CyborgTCar. Yes you did just read that last one right lol. And no, this story is not based on romance or sex. There will be nothing like that in here whatsoever.

**I would like to take this time to thank everyone who has reviewed my story thus far. Thank you for your time and patience. It is truly appreciated. **

**Now without further ado, I present Chapter 3!**

* * *

(Jump City, 4:03 a.m. Past)

A bright flash of light illuminated the sky in Southern Jump City. The light funneled, getting wider, and out fell an unconscious Slade who lay crumpled in the deserted lot of beat up old cars.

The next second the flash of light was gone and all was silent. The residents of Jump City slept on, never knowing what had happened while they were sleeping.

(Jump City, 4:09 a.m. Future)

Cyborg, Ivy, and Raven made their way down to Beast Boy's position in the underground bunker.

It took them only several minutes to get down there since Raven had managed to find a secret door that was carefully hidden in the wall of the office that used to be used for the abandoned car lot.

Beast Boy didn't complain about their shortcut like he would have a long time ago.

Much like Garfield's reaction earlier, the remnants of the Titans jaws dropped to the floor when they saw what was inside waiting for them.

"Hey Cy, do you think you can figure out what this machine is used for?" BB asked curiously as he poked around the mysterious contraption.

"I don't know. Gimme me a minute."

Steel looked around and found a messily organized stack of papers next to the computer console that was still flashing green lights.

"Ryan. I think you should take a look at this computer before you mess with that machine." Raven said and moved aside for him.

Poison Ivy grabbed a stackful of the papers lying around and sat on the ground to read. She occasionally cooed to the weeds growing through the cracked floor and ignored the looks her teammates sent her way.

She didn't expect them to understand. Sure they loved Robin...but not like she had. Now, she was different after finding solace in the earth and the plants that grew within it. She felt a connection there with the sentient weeds and flowers and had cultivated them to the best of her abilities. Now they only responded to her and her alone.

Ivy shook her head and cooed at the weed as it began to wrap around her hand in a comforting embrace. Settled, she began to read.

_**Day 34**__: WHY?_

_It's been a month since the boy died. Why can't I let his death go!? What is driving me to do this!? I was never this obsessed with Aimee! Sure, I loved her; she was my sister. I would do anything for her. But my rival? How did Robin get to be so important to me that I would undertake a project this size?_

Starfire gasped as she read the entry about Robin. She glanced at the other Titans around her. None of them wrote this did they?

_**Day 86**__: Still haven't found that damn material for the machine yet. Went through all my contacts, but they claim they've never heard of the stuff, nor do they know where they can find any. How stupid do they think I am? I know their lying to me. They don't want to me complete my project. But I'll show them! I 'll get that material and I'll show them why it's a bad idea to underestimate me!_

_**Day 175**__: Tired...God...so tired. Life doesn't seem to matter anymore. All I think of, all I can focus on, is seeing his face. I have his mask, it's my most prized possession. But for how long? How long will I be able to do this without support? The rest of them think I have lost my mind; that I've gone over the deep end. And all over a little acrobat brat with a passion for a good fight. I killed the last person who insulted Robin to my face. That boy means a lot more to me than they ever will. So be it; I guess I'll be doing this alone then._

Starfire blinked in shock. She had always wondered where Robin's mask had disappeared to...now she knew that someone had taken it. She felt a slow smile creep upon her lips as she read the part where the person killed someone for insulting Robin. Good for them. They probably deserved it. She blinked again. What was this person trying to do with the machine?

_**Day 239:**__ Finally acquired the last piece of tech equipment for the machine. Took an embarrassingly long time to find and even longer to implement it into the console interface._

_Everything looks solid and all lights are green. Let's do a test run and see how it works._

Ivy looked at the dried blood staining the pages further down the entry. 'Looks like it hadn't gone too well.' she thought.

_**Day 246:** Machine blew up on me. Got injured in the ensuing blast. But that's not what has me so angry; it's the fact that I have to build another machine in another location! As if procuring all of the machine's parts wasn't bad enough; now I have to find a place to construct it in!_

The rest of the entry was blotted out with black ink, as if the writer had gotten angry and scribbled the rest of it away.

_**Day 789: **Finally! Finally have a new location and new parts. Now to build the new time machine. I have to go back. I have to see Robin one more time..._

Starfire gasped. The machine was a time machine! But who wanted to see Robin so much that they would build something of this magnitude in secret?

Ivy looked up and stared hard at her friends. Robin's death had hit them all really hard; could one of them had done this without telling the others?

One of them could have. They hadn't been in contact overly much for those three years. Sure, they had talked through the communicators more than once, but actually seeing the other in person? No, there hadn't been too many face-to-face confrontations.

Any one of them could have easily slipped this passed the others.

She overheard Cyborg tell the others that he didn't have a clue what the machine did, but with time and patience he would be able to figure it out eventually.

She set down the papers on the grimy floor and stood up and joined the others.

"It's a time machine," she announced.

* * *

(Jump City, The Past)

Slade groaned weakly and struggled to move. Ugh. He groaned again. His whole body hurt; every nerve was on fire, every neuron was inflamed with agony. Even his hair hurt. _He didn't have hair._

Eventually after a long struggle with uncoordinated limbs, Slade finally managed to get himself to his feet.

He took in his surroundings, noting that he was in the same general vicinity that he traveled from.

Had it worked though? Looking around wasn't enough. He couldn't tell if anything had changed or not.

Although seeing the objects he had placed into the time machine were lying strewn about the ground before him was nice solid evidence that something had happened, it wasn't enough for him.

The only proof that could tell him if he came back or not was Robin.

If Robin was around...then he had all he needed. If not...Slade shuddered. He didn't want to think about that.

* * *

The other Titans turned to stare at Starfire in incredulous shock.

"It's a what now?" Cyborg asked, glancing between the red headed girl and the machine sitting innocently only a few feet away.

"It's a time machine. It says so here in this person's journal." She replied, holding out said journal to the dark skinned man.

Ryan took the journal, more than a little incredulous. Time machine? That was just Sci-Fi stuff. That stuff couldn't possibly be real...could it?

He perused the journal and nearly dropped the book on the floor in shock. Ivy had been right; whoever had wrote this had actually built a time machine!

Cyborg looked up to find the others staring at him. "Star's—err Ivy's right; it is a time machine."

For a second everybody looked stunned at the revelation, before they all broke out into huge smiles.

"Do you know what this means!?" Beast Boy cried out happily.

Raven and Starfire shared a smile, and even Cyborg looked like Christmas had come early.

"We can go back! We can go back! We can go back!" BB cried happily over and over again, jumping around the room and changing into different animals as he did so.

"We can see Robin again!" BB yelled.

Nobody said anything for a moment, before determined expressions took over their previous ones.

"Let's get to work guys. Who knows who left before us." Ryan said.

They all nodded in agreement. They shared smiles again. They finally had a common purpose after so long without one to drive them to be all that they could be.

It was good to finally be doing something as a team again. But they all knew that they wouldn't be a real team again unless Robin was there with them.

"Star, take a look at those books again and see if you can't find out more about this machine. How it works, what powers it, and who built it. Raven if you wanna help her out? The more we can find out, the better chance we have on getting this thing to work." Cyborg delegated.

BB frowned. "What am I going to do?" Cyborg smiled. "You are going to get materials for me to test out in the machine." BB eyed Ryan suspiciously. "You just want to me carry all that stuff so you don't have to don't ya?" "I have no idea what your talking about." Cyborg deadpanned.

"Right..." BB said, but nevertheless, went about his business of gathering things for his cybernetic friend.

It was going to be a long day. But the tension and awkwardness in the room had abated and was now filled with a feverish determination only previously seen in one person: Robin.

* * *

Slade had no idea what time it was, but he knew instinctively that several hours had passed since he woke up in the abandoned car lot.

It was still dark outside, but the skyline was turning lighter and lighter with each passing minute, and Slade didn't want to be caught out in the daylight. For obvious reasons.

He needed to see what was going on here first before he actively tried to do anything.

It only made sense. That and the fact that he couldn't stand the daytime.

So as it was, he was currently on his way to his last hideout. Not the one in the car lot. He had discovered early on that it wasn't there at all. No, he was searching for a different one.

It took him another 2 hours and 45 minutes to get to the one in the center of Jump. The sun was out and Slade grimaced before he closed the door to his lair. Now he remembered why he kept everything dark; he couldn't stand the brightness of the daytime.

The inside of his lair was dark, dank, and cold. There was barely any light coming through and Slade sighed, before taking off his make-shift mask. (He had taken his other one off after Robin's death and hadn't bothered to wear one since he didn't really have a use for one then. Sadly he forgot along the way to bring one with him, having immersed himself into his little project.)

The dark-skinned male stretched lightly as he walked through the pitch blackness; already knowing where everything was, he didn't have to pause or step over anything.

He made his way to his personal chambers, and sighed in what would be considered contentment to most people, and flopped on his bed.

While it was uncharacteristic for such a display to make it's way out of his defenses, Slade couldn't help but not really care what picture he presented at that moment.

He was tired, his body ached in places he hadn't thought possible. His body simply hadn't recovered yet from the trip through the time machine.

He honestly didn't know how long he'd have to wait before the muscle soreness and tiredness left. (not to mention the throbbing headache pounding away inside his skull.) He speculated that it was probably different for each person since no two people were wired the same genetically. He had no idea if there any other side effects from using the machine.

He groaned as he rolled over to find a more comfortable position. He stared up at his darkened ceiling, contemplating what his next move would be.

He already knew that he would seek out Robin. That much was a given. He knew that he couldn't approach the boy without being at 100%. Robin was good and he would immediately know something was up. Best not make the boy more suspicious then he was.

Despite the apparent success of Project Icarus, he still had his doubts though. Sure, he'd seen the rocks and pieces of metal out in Southern Jump when he had awoke, but that didn't dispel the fear that his project had failed and he wouldn't be seeing Robin ever again. "I wonder what Robin is doing right now..." he whispered to himself as his eyes drooped lower and lower.

Before long, Spencer "Slade" Wilson was fast asleep.

* * *

(Jump City, The Past, Same Time, Teen Titan Tower)

Robin groaned as he awoke from another nightmare. Why was he having these dreams!? Why in the hell was he dreaming about **SLADE** of all people!? That wasn't exactly who he imagined would be invading his dreams night after night... But for the past week and a half now, he'd done nothing but dream of the man. And no, it wasn't one of **THOSE **dreams either!

It was...Robin frowned. It was weird, that's what it was.

Weird. And scary and had he mentioned how weird it was?

He knew Slade was a very dangerous enemy, but his nightmares indicated otherwise, which was seriously starting to piss him off.

In his dreams, he had seen Slade working on...something. The item or thing in question was blurred all the time, so he had no idea what it was or what it did. It was aggravating.

Not only that, but Slade was working on the mysterious object and muttering to himself. Again, Robin couldn't make heads or tails of the situation.

Were his dreams trying to tell him something? Were they warning him about Slade? He snorted at that thought. He didn't need a warning about that man.

But it just kept bothering him though; why was his subconscious doing this to him!?

Shaking his head, Robin glanced over at his alarm clock sitting on the nightstand next to his bed. In big bold red, were the numbers 7:36 a.m.

Joy. He'd awoken an hour early.

Yawning, Robin proceeded into the kitchen area where he put on a fresh cup of coffee. Stifling another yawn, the Boy Wonder looked around the living area and frowned. Raven wasn't up yet, which was kind of odd. She was usually the first one up, but strangely enough, she was the last to go to bed.

Shaking his head, Robin decided it wasn't really important and put it out of his mind.

It would be another hour and a half before he would start to get suspicious of his teammates...

* * *

(An hour and a half later)

Robin frowned, his face tight beneath his mask. No one else was awake except for him. It was beyond odd; bordering quickly on frightening.

Despite their...attitudes and general junk food eating binges and what not, the Teen Titans went to bed relatively early. They were also early to rise as a general rule of habit.

No one else was up but him.

Robin felt...apprehensive. Apprehensive and a little bit worried.

Sure, they sometimes slept late...when they went to bed late that is. Robin had heard them go into their rooms at approximately 10:30 p.m.

They should've been awake by now. _But they weren't_ and Robin wanted to know _why_.

And no, he was NOT quietly freaking out thank you very much.

Hanging outside Starfire's room, Robin walked passed it and back again, before he got the courage to knock on the metal.

He knocked again when he didn't hear an answer. "Starfire?" "Starfire, are you okay?" Again, no answer.

Robin pounded on the door now, calling out his teammate's name, not caring if he woke the others in the process. Something was screaming at him that something was wrong.

"STARFIRE!"

Robin took a step back and readied himself. One way or another, he was getting through that damn door!

Taking a running jump, Robin smashed the heel of his boot against the door. The door flew open with a loud clang when it smacked the wall and rebounded toward the hallway.

Robin was already in the room and didn't pay any attention to the damage.

He was too busy staring at the red-headed girl on the room who had yet to move an inch.

"Starfire!" Robin rushed to her side and knelt down on the bed. He gently shook her shoulder. Nothing.

Robin started to panic a little each time he tried to wake up his friend and received no response.

He did everything; he checked her pulse. It was normal. He checked her eyes next. The pupil was normal. Star's pallor was normal as well. She had no fever.

_But then why wouldn't she wake up?_

Robin suddenly shot up from the bed, his blue eyes wide and slightly terrified beneath his black and white mask.

The others?! What if they too, were like Starfire?

Rushing out of the room, Robin dropped in all of his friends. To his dismay, shock, and slight horror, they were all the same: lying in bed as if they were asleep, but not waking up no matter what Robin did.

He didn't know what to do! His friends were virtually comatose and he was all by himself. He tugged his mask off and slumped down the wall in the hallway. He drew his knees up to his chest and placed his hands on them.

'Calm down!' his mind screamed at him, 'All you have to do is figure out who's behind this and stop them.' he thought.

He stared in Starfire's room from his vantage point and just watched the red head.

He really hoped a villain didn't attack...

He was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn't notice that a certain villain was watching him from the shadows...

* * *

AND, here's Chapter 3! Sorry for the wait folks, but hopefully this is worth it. As always, please tell me what you think! :D


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